God’s presence

718. The Holy Spirit in You

September 1, 2019 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

Following up on last week’s program about feeling the need to ask God’s Spirit to show up or inviting God’s presence into our midst …

This practice misses the understanding that He never leaves as He continuously abides in us. This is different than the Old Covenant. Under the New Covenant, the Spirit may manifest with special gifts as He wills through an anointing that already abides in us.

But there is nothing we can do to create an atmosphere that is more inviting in order to get God to respond with an RSVP to our invitation—because it’s not about what we do … He has chosen to be with us and in us by grace.

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717. Requesting the Holy Spirit to Show Up

August 25, 2019 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

It’s commonplace within a gathering of believers to invite God into our presence or seek some sort of special visitation from His Spirit. As we gain a more complete knowledge of the truth, we discover there is good news on this subject: He never leaves us! He doesn’t depart, withdraw or spontaneously come and go.

In fact, we were invited into His presence and He is there to comfort and bear witness of Jesus in whom we abide. He began a good work in us and He will be faithful to complete it.

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616. Inviting God into Our Presence? (He Invited You!) (Part 2)

September 10, 2017 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

Our second program in the series continues to encourage believers to reconsider a different perspective when it comes to inviting the presence of God’s Spirit into our midst. When people begin asking for the presence of God’s Spirit, or a special anointing or outpouring, it implies a temporary visitation instead of the Spirit always abiding. Believers can develop the mindset that if God can suddenly arrive, He can also depart and withdraw to a degree after the gathering is over. In Christ, we’re continuously wrapped, surrounded and enveloped with God’s presence, and the anointing abides in us through Him. As partakers of the divine nature, “His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness.”

615. Inviting God into Our Presence? (He Invited You!) (Part 1)

September 3, 2017 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

A dubious habit that we’ve bought into is the need to create an acceptable atmosphere in order for the presence of the Holy Spirit to envelop us or come upon us. Various words or phrases are used to invite God into our presence or to seek a greater anointing. The truth is, God is not just in us, but as believers in Christ, we’re in Him! The anointing is in us! This combination should bring an assurance that often goes unrealized by His children. There is no need to send an invitation to God, while hoping He’ll respond with an RSVP. He invited us!.

Living According to Design

June 20, 2017 by Dudley Hall

Father and son swung their legs from the wooden pier on mountain lake

Our three-year-old grandson Fowler recently was taken to the toy store by his "Grams" as an encouragement for his memory work. She let him pick out his choice which was a remote-controlled speed boat.

I assembled it and got the batteries in the right places and surprisingly it worked. That is, the propellers turned when the remote switch was on. But Fowler wanted it to run across the living room floor. I heard myself telling him, "it was designed for water. It only works when it is in water." It is what fathers and grandfathers tell their immature children.

Designed to Be With Him

God the Father has been saying that to his human creatures for a long time. We were designed to live in his presence. Life only works when lived there. God's first children, Adam and Eve started there. They enjoyed walking, talking, and working in the presence of God their creator and Father.

Later in the biblical story God's Son Jesus lived so conscious of his Father's presence that he claimed that he only spoke what he heard the Father say, and only did what he saw the Father do.

We were designed to live in his presence. Life only works when lived there.

In the interval between Adam and Jesus, humans lived with a sense of being on the outside of the family and distant from God. Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden of Eden where they were designed to live. The whole race of humans followed that model. The most popular perspective of those who believed in God was that of a distant deity who was more of a moral policeman than a loving Father. Israel continued to hold that perspective even after God graciously delivered them from slavery and called them his son.

It’s Your Inheritance

Then Jesus came. He lived as a son -- as humans were designed to live. He died as a substitute for the outsiders. Those who trust him as their own deliverer are brought inside the family and declared sons of the Father. They are given the same access to the Father as Jesus has always enjoyed. They live conscious of his presence.

Nothing can separate us from the love of Christ Jesus our Lord who gives us his status with the Father.

Yes, they must deal with the spiritual enemy who is the master illusionist of separation. He uses every possible circumstance to insinuate that we are separated from God the Father. He tries to get us to believe that our privilege is based on our performance rather than a gracious gift of the Son who guarantees our status as sons.

But nothing can separate us from the love of Christ Jesus our Lord who gives us his status with the Father. (Romans 8:35-39) He has even given us the Holy Spirit to quicken our hearts to know the Father intimately. (Galatians 4:4-7) We can now live according to our original design -- conscious of the Father's presence.

Enjoy his presence. It is your inheritance as a son or daughter.

514. Randomly Addressing Commonly Held Beliefs (Part 2)

September 13, 2015 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

Following up on last week's program, the tables are turned as Joel throws some spontaneous questions to Mike, addressing commonly held assumptions or beliefs found in most Christian circles or church doctrine. Discussions include: Asking for God's presence when we pray, dedicating our lives to God, and faith without works is dead.